Lemon Buttercream

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Two different versions of my delicious lemon buttercream – one made with fresh lemons (juice and zest) and another made with either lemon extract or oil. Perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes or filling biscuits and macarons.

One of my most requested new recipes is lemon buttercream (and a lemon birthday cake to go with it!). It’s something I’ve not shared until now because I had a massive dilemma about the best way to make the buttercream. Should it be flavoured with lemon extract/oil, or should I opt for fresh lemon zest and juice?

Both types of buttercream are delicious, and both have times when they really come into their own. In the end, I decided the only solution was to share both.

This lemon buttercream goes brilliantly with both my carrot cake cupcakes and gingerbread cupcakes and I’ll be sharing my recipes for the lemon cupcakes shown in these pictures (which I also filled with lemon curd for an extra burst of lemon flavour), and my full-sized lemon cake soon. I’ll add the links here when I do, and if you want to make sure you don’t miss these new recipes when they’re published make sure you subscribe to my mailing list.

When to use buttercream made with fresh lemon zest and juice

Lemon buttercream made with fresh zest and juice is best when you want your buttercream to really pack a punch. You’ll see from the recipe that I’ve added a lot of zest for flavour and then a little lemon juice for added sharpness. The addition of the lemon juice really adds a kick to the buttercream.

You’ll notice that I’ve used more zest than juice in the recipe. After a lot of testing, I found this gave just the right balance of flavours. It does mean that you’ll have some juice leftover, but don’t worry about waste. Lemon juice freezes really well for you to use later – I like to put the juice of ½ a lemon in each square of an ice cube tray and then I can defrost it as I need it. I’ve also added a list of recipe ideas below for using up lemon juice for you to try.

Lemon Buttercream made with fresh lemon juice and zest

When to use lemon buttercream made using lemon extract/oil

Lemon buttercream made with extract or oil is better when you want a more subtle lemon flavour in your buttercream. When I tested the two buttercream types on my family, I found that adults enjoyed the kick of the buttercream made with fresh lemons and the children preferred the one made with extract. When I was a child I remember not liking the sharpness of lemon (how my tastes have changed as an adult because now I love it!), this version of the buttercream keeps the flavour but loses the sharpness you get from the fresh lemons.

If you’re planning on piping your buttercream then I’d recommend using the version made with lemon extract. You can see from the pictures that it’s silky smooth, whereas the buttercream made with fresh lemon has flecks of lemon zest running through it. It still pipes OK, but you can see the edges aren’t as clearly defined and if you were planning on using a smaller nozzle than the one I’ve used here (JEM1B) you may find that the nozzle gets clogged by the zest.

The other big advantage to this version of the buttercream is that it’s made from ingredients I always have in my store cupboard/fridge – butter, icing sugar, lemon extract and milk. It’s therefore perfect for those times that I need to bake a cake at the last minute and I haven’t had a chance to go to the shops, as I only buy fresh lemons when I know I’m planning to use them. It also means you don’t have to think about what to do with the leftover lemon juice.

Lemon Buttercream made with lemon extract/oil

Does this buttercream crust?

Yes, it’s based on a standard buttercream with twice the amount of icing sugar to butter and so it crusts just as that would. It’s therefore perfect for piping more intricate shapes such as buttercream flowers and also for using under fondant on a decorated cake.

Can this lemon buttercream be made vegan/dairy-free?

Absolutely, it’s pretty straightforward to adapt the recipe to be vegan/dairy-free.

All you need to do is switch the 250g of butter in the recipe for 125g of dairy-free/vegan margarine (I use Pure Sunflower) and 125g of a vegetable oil block such as Stork Baking Block or Trex. Then switch the milk added at the end for a dairy-free alternative such as almond milk.

The vegan margarine adds flavour to the buttercream and the vegetable oil block adds firmness, so your buttercream is just the right consistency for piping.

INSTRUCTIONS

Add the icing sugar (500g) and beat until combined - I like to add mine a spoonful at a time as it helps stop it flying out of the bowl!

Finely grate the zest of 5 lemons. Squeeze the juice from the lemons until you have 1 tbsp.

Add the lemon zest to the buttercream and beat until it is evenly distributed. Slowly add the lemon juice (no more than 1 tsp at a time) and beat in each addition before adding more.

Check the consistency of your buttercream - It should be soft enough that you could spread it onto a slice of bread without the bread tearing, but not runny. If it is a little stiff, then add a little milk (again no more than 1 tsp at a time) until is it the right consistency.

Your buttercream is now ready to use.

NOTES

If you would like to make the buttercream a little smoother simply blitz it with a hand blender and this will break down some of the lemon zest so it is finer.

The recipe makes enough to decorate 12 cupcakes in the style shown in the fresh lemon buttercream pictures, or 18 cupcakes decorated as shown in the buttercream made with lemon extract pictures.

It will be enough to fill and create a thin outer coating on a 20cm 2-layer round cake.

Nutritional information is based on 12 servings.

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FREE FROM/SUITABLE FOR…

The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary and product recipes can change over time.

Suitable for Vegetarians

Gluten-Free

Egg-Free

Tree Nut-Free

Peanut-Free

Sesame-Free

Soya-Free

Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free

Lupin-Free

This list of allergens is the same regardless of which version of the buttercream you choose to make.

There are details of how to adapt this lemon buttercream to be vegan/dairy-free above the recipe.

Lemon Buttercream

Version two of my lemon buttercream made with lemon extract or oil. Perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes or filling biscuits and macarons.

INGREDIENTS

1tbsplemon extract/lemon oil - (can use a little more or less according to your own taste

A little milk - To help get the buttercream to a soft consistency

INSTRUCTIONS

Beat the butter (250g) on a low speed until it is soft.

Add the icing sugar (500g) and beat until combined - I like to add mine a spoonful at a time as it helps stop it flying out of the bowl!

Slowly add the lemon extract/oil (1 tbsp - add no more than 1 tsp at a time) and beat in each addition before adding more.

Check the consistency of your buttercream - It should be soft enough that you could spread it onto a slice of bread without the bread tearing, but not runny. If it is a little stiff, then add a little milk (again no more than 1 tsp at a time) until is it the right consistency.

Your buttercream is now ready to use.

NOTES

The recipe makes enough to decorate 12 cupcakes in the style shown in the fresh lemon buttercream pictures, or 18 cupcakes decorated as shown in the buttercream made with lemon extract pictures.

It will be enough to fill and create a thin outer coating on a 20cm 2-layer round cake.

Nutritional information is based on 12 servings.

WANT TO HEAR ABOUT NEW RECIPES FIRST?SUBSCRIBE to the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen Mailing List

Two different versions of my delicious lemon buttercream – one made with fresh lemons (juice and zest) and another made with either lemon extract or oil. Perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes or filling biscuits and macarons.

I’m sorry to hear that the cake and buttercream didn’t turn out as expected.

I’m hoping you might be able to answer a few questions that might help me to understand what could have happened.

1) For the cake – did you bake it in sandwich tins or one deep tin? If you use one deep tin it’ll take longer (about 50 minutes) that using sandwich tins. 2) Which version of the buttercream did you make? How soft was the butter when you added it to the buttercream?

Marysays

April 18, 2020 at 10:12 pm

I searched high and low for the perfect recipe for lemon cupcakes with frosting and found it here! Spot on measurements and so delicious!

This buttercream is much too buttery, and with just 1tbsp of lemon juice, had almost no lemon flavour. It felt very fatty and stuck to my mouth. I’d recommend halving the butter and adding much more lemon juice or zest, plus some extra sugar to keep the consistency. I ended up scraping it off my cake and adding 70ml lemon juice and an extra 200g or so of icing sugar to get it to taste less oily and more lemony.

I adore baking with lemon but have never made lemon buttercream! So this is just perfect for me. Pinned! I love that there are two versions too. I do have lemon extract always in the cupboard so guess what I’m doing next week! Thanks for including my cheesecake x